Gift From the Sea
by Flower-Child-Forever
Summary: Wufei goes for a walk on the beach one morning and finds something in the sea that changes his life forever. Will it be for the better or for the worse?
1. Chapter One!

_**In this story, Wufei finds something in the ocean that will change his life forever. For the better, or for the worst? **_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Wufei or Gundam Wing. I do, however, own Lian.**_

_**  
Gift From the Sea **_

_**  
Chapter One**_

It was the middle of summer. Hot. Around 86 degrees at night and 98 during the day. Sometimes it even hit 100.

Chang Wufei, former gundam pilot, was asleep in his bed, the covers kicked to the floor. It was early Friday morning.

His face twitched slightly, then he rolled over on his side in his sleep and curled up a ball. Then he rolled over on his other side. Then on his stomach, then on his back. He scrunched up his face a bit, then he slowly blinked open his eyes.

The first thing he did was look at his window. The one facing the ocean. It was still dark. Then he looked over at his digital clock on his nightstand. 5:05 AM it read. He groaned and reached over the side of the bed and grabbed a sheet and covered himself with it and tried to go back to sleep. Five minutes later he groaned loudly in frustration and sat up scowling. It was no use. He couldn't go back to sleep. He was bummed. He wasn't working that day and planned on spending it sleeping late, but that wasn't going to happen.

Wufei got out of bed and stretched before going to his closet and pulling out some black shorts and a button up short sleeve shirt. He put them on, deciding not to button up the shirt. He then went into the bathroom to brush his hair, brush his teeth, and perform all of the usual morning routines.

After that, he went into the kitchen to get some milk for his breakfast. (That was all he was having. He wasn't hungry.)

Wufei's condo wasn't very big, but it wasn't tiny either. It was big enough for one person to live in comfortably. When you walked in the front door, you were in the living room. It wasn't big, just big enough for a couch, a recliner, a bookshelf, and an entertainment center. (BIG TV stand) Go straight several steps and you were in the kitchen/dining room. A kitchen island separated the living room and the kitchen. The kitchen was big enough to fit a small table and three chairs. Then go to the left once in the kitchen and you'll go through a door which lets you into Wufei's bedroom. It was just big enough for a Queen sized bed and a dresser and a nightstand. Step into the bedroom and instantly go to the right and you were at the closet door. Pass the closet door a few steps and you were at the bathroom. It was a small bathroom, but having everything needed. Go back in the kitchen and keep going straight, on the other side of the kitchen was a small hallway, leading to the balcony, the washer/dryer room, and the extra bedroom and bathroom. Wufei kept the extra bedroom as a library. The balcony overlooked the ocean. The view was breathtaking. One of the reasons he bought the apartment. He was 11 stories up and you could see for miles over the ocean. He bought it with one of the checks he had recieved for participating in the war. After the checks stopped coming he decided to open his own bookshop. He made good money on it, so he lived comfortably.

Anywho, back to the story......

After he got out of the bathroom, he went into the kitchen to get some milk for his breakfast. (That was all he was having. He wasn't hungry.) When he got done with that he decided to take a walk on the beach before the sun came up. He looked out the kitchen window. The moon was full, giving enough light to see by without a flashlight. So he washed out his glass and left the apartment not locking the door behind him (it was a safe neighborhood), not bothering to take his shoes.

Wufei had been walking down the beach for about a mile now when he noticed a figure ahead waist deep in water holding something. It seemed strange to him, so he went quickly to the figure. He stopped about ten feet away from the figure, but it didn't notice him. He realized it was a woman, fully clothed in waist deep water. She was holding a basket or something. She let it go and it started floating, swaying gently with the waves. Then she turned around and went back on the beach and started walking away. He realized that the woman didn't look any older than him, eighteen.

"Hey!" he called. The woman stopped and he ran up to her. "What were you doing?" he asked. He knew he shouldn't be nosy, but he was so curious it was killing him.

"I was just getting rid of something I didn't want or need," she said and turned around again.

"Why was it in a basket then?"

"Just leave me alone! Mind your own business! That _thing's _better off away from me! I'm too _young_ for something like that!" she yelled and ran off.

"What?" he asked out loud and looked towards the basket. He was wondering what was in the basket that she hated so much. It was about to kill him if he didn't find out, so he ran into the ocean, fully clothed and swam quickly to the basket before it got sucked out to sea.

When Wufei got to the basket, the water was already well over his head. He grabbed the basket and started to swim back. It was a struggle to fight against the current with one hand, but he finally made it to shore. Out of breath, he fell to a sitting position and held the basket in his lap. It was barely heavy at all, but he could tell there was definitely something in there. He tried to pull the lid off, but it was stuck. He pulled harder, but only suceeded in hurting his fingers. So he sighed and stood up with the basket and went back to his apartment for a knife.

When he got inside and sat the basket on the table, he got a butter knife and pried the lid open. Once loose, he set the knife down and slowly took off the lid, wondering what was inside. What he found made his eyes go huge and his mouth drop.

**_So? What do think about the first chapter? Should I continue, or should I quit? R&R, please!_**


	2. Chapter Two!

_**Yay! People actually reviewed! I don't exactly know where I'm going with this story, but I guess we'll find out as it progresses.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Gundam Wing or Wufei; just Lian. **_

_**Gift From the Sea**_

_**  
Chapter Two**_

The lid dropped to the floor and Wufei gaped at the contents of the basket in total shock and horror. Inside the basket was a little, tiny baby girl. He knew it was a girl because she had no clothes. She was just staring silently up at him. She had huge black Asian eyes and tuffs of black hair. She blinked.

He reached into the basket and carefully picked up the baby. She was cold and shivering. She seemed even more tiny in his arms than she did in the basket. He figured she had to be newborn since her skin was still slightly wrinkly and her umbilical cord was still there, looking freshly cut. It hasn't even began to think about starting to dry yet.

"Oh my god," he said in horror. "What do I do?!" he thought out loud. He did the first thing he could think of. He found some soft bath towels and wrapped the baby in it, then laid her down on his bed and quickly threw off his wet clothes and put on some new ones, picked up the baby again and left the apartment taking his car keys with him.

Once in the apartment's parking garage, he laid the baby in the passenger seat and started the car and rushed out of the garage and down the road. He could only think of one person who could help him with this.

Wufei kicked on the door of apartment 106 in the complex just a block away. He was holding the baby in his arms, calling for the person to open the door.

He finally couldn't take it anymore. "HEY!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, kicking the door hard. The baby, wrapped in a blue towel, didn't seem to mind the noise. He was sure he woke up more people than he intended, but he didn't care. "WAKE UP! HEY! I swear I'll break down the door!"

He heard someone walking inside so he stopped yelling, but kept kicking the door. "Hold on!" the angry sleepy voice fussed. The locks clicked and the door was flung open by a very angry, sleepy, and messy haired Sally Po. She glared daggers at him. "Wufei! What the hell are you doing?! Do you even know what time..." she trailed when she noticed the bundle he was holding to his chest, her anger diminishing. "...What the heck is that?" she asked.

"It's why I'm here," Wufei said uncovering the baby enough so Sally could see.

Her eyes widened. "Wufei where did you get that?!" she hissed leading him inside and shutting the door behind them. They sat down on the couch and looked at the quiet baby. "It's not your kid is it?" she asked.

"No!" he shook his head, appalled at the idea of such a thing. "There's no way I have any kids of my own!"

"Then where'd you get it?!"

"I found _her_ in the ocean. Her mother put her in a basket and let her float to sea. When I swam and got the basket I had _no_ idea it was a baby until I got it home and opened it."

"What kind of person would abandon a helpless baby?" Sally asked no one imparticular.

Wufei looked at her worriedly. "I think there's something wrong with her," he said. "I've never seen a real baby up close before, but she seems too thin to be normal and she hasn't cried once since I found her. She just stares."

She took the baby and unwrapped her. "She _is_ too thin for normal," she said looking her over. "I want to take her to my office to fully examine her. You wanna go?" she looked at him, them smiled. "Never mind. You stay here and sleep while I take the baby."

He nodded and she was soon gone. He lay out fully on the couch and closed his eyes.

He was woken by the sound of a door shutting. He sat up and saw it was Sally with the baby. She sat next to him and handed him back the baby.

"She's perfectly healthy," she said. "Other than she's really, really hungry. I'm betting the mother tried starving herself while she was pregnant to kill the baby. I say that baby's no older than four hours old. She's Asian, that a given, but I can't tell from what country. I don't know why she won't cry; I guess she's just a quiet baby."

"What am I going to do with her?" he asked looking down at the little girl sleeping peacefully in his arms.

"There's plenty of hospitals around here that'll take her in, and there's that orphanage on the other side of town. All those places will gladly take her."

"Hm. Thanks Sally," he said and stood up with the baby. "I'll go now then," he said, then bowed to her and left.

As Wufei drove out of Sally's complex he found himself caught in morning rush hour.

"Aaa! I'm never going to get to the orphanage now!" he groaned and looked over at the baby lying in the passenger seat. She seemed to be asleep. He smiled warmly at her. He had to admit she was cute. '...No. More than cute,' he thought. 'She's precious.'

He blinked and shook his head at his sudden odd thought. The traffic moved several yards before stopping again. He glanced over at her again, chewing his bottom lip.

She opened her eyes and he swore she smiled at him, but surely it was his imagination. Wufei tapped on his steering wheel.

He glanced again at her. She stared back and he felt something stir in his heart. He remembered the advice Heero always gave. 'Follow your emotions,' He always said.

"Well Heero I'm following your advice," Wufei said outloud. "......Shit," he said and did a U turn out of the traffic and rode a turning lane the wrong way and got off on a backroad leading to neither his nor Sally's house.

**_Well? What do you think about this chapter? R&R, please! _**

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far! And no I haven't heard the tale of the baby in the peach. I'll look it up though!**_


	3. Chapter Three!

_**Thanks for the reviews! I love every one of them! **_

_**Gift From the Sea**_

_**Chapter Three**_

Four hours later, Sally knocked on Wufei's apartment door. She had come over because she wondered how he was handling having to give away the baby. He seemed genuinely concerned for it.

Wufei didn't answer his door so Sally knocked again. Still no answer. She sighed in frustration and took out the apartment key he had given her three years ago for emergencies. She opened the door and went inside.

She found him asleep on the couch covered up with a blanket. She smiled at the sleeping boy. He was so adorable when he slept, his mouth open a bit, not drooling, but almost. It was just totally cute.

She was about to leave when she noticed he had a lump on his chest under the covers. 'What the-?' she thought. She knew if she pulled down the blanket to see he'd wake up, but she didn't care. Sally gently took the blanket and pulled it down revealing the baby he was supposed to have taken to the orphanage asleep on his chest, now dressed in black baby clothes with little red dragons all over it. It even had little feeties. She had a black tiny stocking hat on her head and a little blue pacifier in her mouth.

Suddenly Wufei's eyes flew open and he sat up, holding the baby to his chest. He blinked when he realized who it was. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"What are you still doing with that baby and why did you buy her clothes?" she countered.

He looked down at the baby in his arms. "I decided to keep her," He said warmly. Sally noticed suddenly that the living room had bags of newborn sized diapers, baby formulas, bottles, brushes, clothes, pacifiers, Q-tips, rubbing alcohol, blankets, baby powder, baby wipes and a stack of parenting and baby books.

"Keep her?' she repeated, looking back at him. "Wufei you have no idea how to take care of a baby!"

"I'll learn. I have plenty of books to help me. I've also been informed of several helpful websites."

"Why didn't you take her to the orphanage and leave her?" she moaned in exasperation.

"Because I can't abandon her!" he said almost angrily. "I won't!"

"It's not abando-"

"Yes it is! Just leaving her with people and going about my life like she never existed is abandoning!"

"Wufei-"

"What?" he snapped.

"Why do you want her so badly?"

"...I don't know," he answered, looking at the baby. "It's just that when ever I look at her I suddenly feel calm and relaxed. And I like her. Alot. And I won't leave her to let just anybody have her!"

Sally blinked in surprise. She never expected him to make a confession like that. She smiled warmly. "What's her name?" she asked.

"I was thinking about that when I fell asleep," Wufei answered, visibly relaxing. "I was thinking….Lian?"

"Lian?" she repeated.

"It's stupid isn't it," he said lowering his eyes in embarassment.

"No! I love it! It's perfect, I just wasn't expecting a name so elegant. I was thinking you'd choose a fighting name."

"A fighting name doesn't suit her," he said defensively. "…So, it's Lian." He smiled at the baby still asleep in his arms.

"Chang Lian," Sally said thoughtfully. "It sounds good," she smiled.

"Sally?" Wufei said softly. "...You know you're like a mother to me..."

"Yeah," she answered slowly, wondering what he was getting at.

"I wanted to thank you for understanding and for not forcing me to giver her up."

"Don't thank me," she smiled.

"So since I'm like your son, that makes Lian like your granddaughter, so will you give her free doctor's services?"

Sally looked at him strangely. "We're not _that_ close," she said.

That night around two, Sally was woken by the phone ringing. She answered it.

"Sally!" she heard Wufei say loudly. In the background Lian was crying. "She won't stop crying! I've done everything I can think of plus some!"

"You fed her?" Affirmative. "Burped her?" Yes. "Changed her?" Yes. "Maybe her diaper's too tight."

"I've already thought of that. Any looser and her diaper will fall off."

"Uh...Maybe she's sleepy."

"If she's sleepy, wouldn't she just go to sleep?!"

"Not all the time...Are you holding her?"

"No."

"Pick her up and see if that helps her."

"...No luck..."

"Try walking around while gently rocking her in your arms....Gently."

"Ok...." Wufei said and soon Lian stopped crying. To him, the silence made him notice the ringing in his ears. "Hey it's working." he said in amazement. "Thanks Sally!"

"Sure anytime," she said. "Was that all you needed?...Ok then. I'll see you tomorrow. ...Why? Because you're gonna get Lian a birth certificate tomorrow morning, and that means you'll have to get all her shots. So I'll give her the shots myself."

"Half price?" he asked innocently.

"We'll see...I'm going back to sleep now. Ok, bye."

The next morning, Wufei was woken by Lian crying. She had slept with him on the other side of the bed and would continue to do so until he got her a crib.

"I'm up, I'm up," he groaned. "I bet your hungry again, huh." He picked her up and went into the kitchen with her and put a pot of water on the stove. He pulled a can of baby formula from the box on the counter. He read the directions on the back of the fomula box and mixed the formula with water in a bottle and stuck the bottle in the hot water.

He looked at the still crying baby in his arms. "Look, see? I'm making food as fast as I can," he said rocking her in his arms. "You don't have to cry."

He turned off the stove and tested the milk on his wrist like the parenting book he was reading said. It was fine, so he held the bottle to her mouth and she eagerly accepted it.

While he fed her he made himself a pot of strong coffee. By the first sip he could feel himself wake up. By the time Lian was done with the bottle, he was fully awake.

He changed her diaper and then changed her clothes, since she had slept in them and drooled milk all over them. He chose a light blue baby one piece with feeties. He left the buttons on her stomach unbuttoned so her umbilical cord wouldn't hurt her. He put a blue stocking hat on her head and gave her a pacifier.

"Ok," Wufei said to the baby as he picked up a baby blanket and wrapped it around her. "Here's the story we'll tell the people at the courthouse..." he thought for a second. "...that... you were born on a houseboat yesterday morning around...Sally said you were born two hours before I found you so....you were born yesterday morning on a houseboat around 3....Your mom died giving birth-No! She took off as soon as we got to shore. Yeah that's it! She said she was too young for a baby, only sixteen..."

Wufei thought some more. "...She ran off to her parents, refusing to talk to me or see you." He looked at Lian. "How's that sound, hm?" he realized she was asleep again.

He smiled warmly at her. "It'll be good enough I hope." If he told the truth about finding Lian, the officials would take her away from him since legally he couldn't keep her.

He hugged her gently to him. "You were born July 24, A.C. 198. 3 A.M." he said to her.

He looked at Lian again. She was so tiny. She seemed so fragile that he was constantly afraid he would hurt her. He found it amazing how she was so trusting to him. She totally depended on him.

Wufei walked carefully to the bedroom. He put her on the bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower, not closing the bathroom door so he could hear if she started to cry.

**_R&R, please! Thanks again, everyone, for the reviews! Suggestions for upcoming chapters are most welcome! Also, should I make this PG-13 for language (upcoming chapters)?_**


	4. Chapter Four!

_**Yo! I hope everyone had a great Christmas! Thanks for your reviews! I loved the constructive criticism; it helped a lot on the editing of this chapter. **_

_**Gift From the Sea**_

_**Chapter Four**_

Wufei finished his shower and went into the bedroom to find Lian was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. He lay down next to her promising himself he was just going to close his eyes for five minutes.

The next thing he knew, the phone rang and woke both of them up. Lian whimpered, but didn't cry. He reached over her and answered the phone.

"Wufei! Are you ever going to bring Lian here for her shots?" Sally's angry voice demanded. "You can't get a birth certificate unless you get her shots!"

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"Almost eleven a.m."

"Eleven?!"

"What have you been doing all day?"

"We took a nap. You woke us up."

"God, Wufei! Just bring her down here," Sally said and hung up.

"Hey! You're here!" Sally greeted as Wufei walked in the clinic holding the baby bundled in a blanket. The patients in the waiting room looked up to see who it was.

"Here," she said and handed him a clipboard with lots of papers and a pen. "Fill these out and give them to the receptionist when you're done, ok?" she smiled and peeked at Lian then left the waiting room with a patient to examine.

Wufei went and sat down on an empty couch and lay Lian beside him before he started to fill out the forms.

Halfway done, a woman came in and sat in an arm chair across from him. He didn't pay her any attention until she started talking to him.

"She's adorable," the woman said, referring to Lian. "How old is she?"

"Two days," he answered not looking up.

"Aw! She's so cute! What's her name and where is her mother?"

He looked up at the woman with cold eyes. "I don't think that is any of your concern, is it?" he said in a very cold voice. The woman looked shocked but didn't say anything more to him.

'Thank God,' Wufei thought as he took the paperwork to the front desk.

As soon as he was back at the couch Sally's voice rang through the room. "Hey Wufei, you can come on back."

He didn't answer and picked up Lian and followed Sally down the hall.

"So?" Sally asked leading them. Her back turned to them, but her smile evident in her voice. "How was your first night of being a daddy?" she teased.

"Considering I'll probably have a ringing in my ears for the rest of my life and I'll probably go deaf within two weeks and I had a total of 2 hours of sleep last night, not including our nap this morning, and I burned my arm on the stove this morning while making a bottle while I was half asleep, I'd have to say my first night was pretty good. And how was yours?" he said in a sweet yet very sarcastic voice.

She laughed a little and led him into an open examination room. She took Lian from him and unwrapped her and lay her on a scale. She was still asleep. "Well," Sally started to answer his question. "I had a great night excluding that some strange man called me around two this morning wondering how to get a baby to stop crying." She flashed him a teasing smile. He scowled at her.

"She weighs..." Sally said mostly to herself as she weighed the baby. "....5 pounds, 8 ounces.....She's gained weight since yesterday," she smiled. "It's not much, but it's a start. Good job Wufei."

"Is she underweight or something?" he asked taking the blanket off the counter and folding it.

"5 pounds_ is _underweight, you dolt. I told you, I think that the mother starved herself while she was pregnant, trying to kill Lian. But at the rate you're going, she'll be fine."

Sally measured her, then took a blood sample from her foot. At the prick of the pin, Lian's eyes flew open and she started to scream. Wufei winced at the volume, but Sally seemed to not notice and bandaged her foot.

She then left to take the sample to the lab, leaving him alone with the screaming baby. "It doesn't hurt that bad. Stop it," he said over her. Lian kept screaming.

Finally he couldn't stand it anymore and picked her up, trying to make her stop. After a few moments, Lian's screams faded to moderate whimpers.

Sally came back then. "I'm sorry to say that you just wasted your time calming her down." she said and opened a drawer and pulled out a needle. "I'm not done yet."

"You're not?" Wufei asked in dread. She shook her head. He sighed and put the baby back on the table.

"Ok, now for the worst part of her day," Sally said and syringed some medicine in the needle. "It's a vitamin K injection. A newborn's liver often can't produce vitamin K, so we have to give it to them."

"She's going to scream again isn't she," he said in dread.

She nodded. "Yeah, it will, but she'll be fine," she said and proceeded to give the baby the shot.

Lian started to scream again. Soon Sally took out the needle and put a bandage on Lian's arm. "There. We're done," she said smiling.

Wufei picked up the screaming baby and wrapped the blanket around her. "I pay now or what?" he asked, having to half yell to be heard.

She shook her head. "I'll come by your place later. Pay me then," she said. "Oh yeah! Come with me to my office. I bought something for you."

"What is it?" he asked following Sally and trying to quiet the baby at the same time. He finally dug in his pocket and pulled out a pacifier. He stuck it in his mouth first to get all the dirt and stuff off then stuck it in Lian's mouth. She ignored it and let it fall from her mouth and onto the blanket.

When they reached her office, Sally took a box and put it on top of her desk. She took a knife and opened it and pulled out some weird thing Wufei's only seen a few times. He knew it had something to do with babies. She smiled at his confused look. "It's a baby carrier," she explained.

She took Lian, now calming, from him, uncovered her, and placed her in the carrier. "You put her in here like that and strap her in like this." She showed him how to do it. Then she took the blanket and covered her up and tucked her in gently.

Lian stopped crying all together and blinked up at the two people looking down at her. She looked as if she didn't know what to think about this new thing.

"You don't leave her in here all the time," Sally said. "Only put her in here if you're taking her somewhere outside home, like the grocery store or something. But just taking her to the beach, you don't need this," she said and then smiled. "It also doubles as a carseat. You'll eventually get in trouble if you keep letting her ride in the front seat-"

"Why?" Wufei asked.

Sally stared at him and sighed loudly in annoyance. "Honestly, Wufei! I thought you were smarter than that!"

"Just what the hell do you mean by that?!" he demanded angrilly.

She shook her head at him. "Everyone is supposed to know that it's against the law to have children too small to use a real seat in the front seat. They have to sit in the back and use a car seat." She looked at him in disbelief. "Didn't you learn this at some point in your life?"

He glared at her. "Just shut up!"

"Drop it," she said. "Come on out to your car and I'll show you how to work the carseat."

"Fine," he said starting for the door, but she stopped him.

"I have something else for you too," she said.

"What?"

Sally pulled out a big black bag and handed it to him. He looked inside and found it empty. "It's a baby bag," she said. "When you go out, you _need_ this to take her bottle, pacifiers, diapers, wipes, extra clothes, blankets and anything else that you might think necessary."

"It looks like a huge purse," Wufei said frowning in disapproval.

"I guess so," she shrugged. "You'll probably think you look stupid carrying this thing around for a while, but you'll just have to deal with it....Oh! Here, this will help alot too," she said pulling out a box from her desk. It was a pair of baby monitors. "So you don't have to have Lian with you all the time while you're at home. It will also wake you up when she cries from another room." She handed him the box and he looked it over.

"Thank you, Sally." he said. "You're a huge help."

**_R&R please! Any suggestions for upcoming chapters are most welcome, as is constructive criticism. _**

**_For TrigunChic, he meets up with the others in later chapters. Wufei moved to China after the war ended. The boys just kind of split up._**


	5. Chapter Five!

_**I haven't updated in a while. Sorry guys. This was a hard chapter.... I don't know how a courthouse works, so I just guessed at it. I based the courthouse off the DMV office in my town.  
**_

_**Speaking of DMV... I have to take my driver's test again tomorrow... Wish me luck!**_

_**Gift From the Sea**_

**_Chapter Five _**

"Ok, you stick the seatbelt through this hole and buckle it through this one. See?" Sally said as she hooked Lian's carrier to the back seat. They were in the parking lot. Sally was showing Wufei how to operate a carseat.

"I understand it now," Wufei said. "If I have trouble later I'll call you."

"Ok," she said.

"Thank you again for all this stuff," he said sticking the black bag in the passenger seat. He turned around to bow and leave, but was grabbed in a hug from her.

His arms were pinned to his sides."Why are you hugging me?" he asked in shock. He started to struggle to get away. "Let me go! Let me go, damn you!"

He broke free of her hold and backed away from her. Sally smiled at him in amusement. "I have to get back to work," she said. "Go to the courthouse soon today," she said. "But stop by your house first and do whatever you have to do then leave, ok?"

"Ok," he said. She smiled at him once more and then ran back into the clinic. Wufei got into the car and drove off towards home.

* * *

Once home, he parked in his usual parking spot on the fifth level of the parking garage. He cut off the car and grabbed the baby bag and got out. He put the bag on top of the car and opened Lian's door. 

He leaned over her carrier, trying to figure out how to get her out of the carrier. He didn't want to take the whole thing out since he would just have to put it back later that day anyway. He frowned in frustration as he searched for a way to free the baby. He noticed the straps holding her in led down to a button. He pushed the button and instantly the straps came free, allowing him to slip them over her head and pick her up.

He took her out gently and closed the door. He took the bag and started through the garage to the elevators inside to get to the eleventh floor. As he rode the elevator up, he glanced down at Lian in his arms. She was sleeping, her fists resting beside her head.

Wufeigot off the elevator and went to their apartment and went inside. He put Lian down on the bed; she woke up and started to cry, but stopped almost as soon as she started. He changed her diaper and rubbed alcohol on her umbilical cord, then took her into the kitchen so he could make her bottle.

As her bottle warmed up, he held Lian out in front of him, making sure to support her neck like Sally had told him before. He wondered if he was doing everything right, or if he was just doing everything wrong.

When her bottle was finished she drunk some, but not much at all. She couldn't have gotten more than three gulps. He shrugged and put down the bottle.

"Are you not hungry?" he asked. She blinked at him in response. "Hm...I guess that's ok," he said and took the bottle and her to the couch where the black bag lay. He put Lian on the floor on a blanket and studied the bag. It had a huge inner compartment that zipped shut. There were five outer pockets.

"It's a god-damn purse..." he said miserably and tossed it to the floor.

Wufei slid to the floor after it and grabbed two blankets, folded them neatly and placed them in the bottom of the bag. Then he took a pair of Lian's clean clothes, folded them, and put them in there along with another stocking hat. He put a bunch of diapers on top of that and then topped it off with a box of wipes. He closed that part and put three pacifiers in one of the pockets, then put the bottle in another pocket.

He stood up and went into the bathroom. He stood in front of the mirror and took down his hair and shook his head letting the silky strands fly free. He got a brush and brushed his hair out, then retied it again. Then he went back to Lian. He wrapped the blanket she was on around her body and picked her up along with the bag and put the strap over his shoulder, then grabbed his wallet before going out the apartment door, locking it behind him.

"Ok, Lian,"Wufei said. "We're here" He got out and got her and the carrier out and took the bag, and started up the steps to the courthouse.

There was hardly a line inside, so he didn't have to wait long. He told the person behind the desk what he wanted. He was asked why he didn't get one at the hospital, and so he told the man the part of the story he had made up earlier that day about Lian getting born while out to sea. The guy nodded and handed him a bunch of papers to fill out. He inwardly groaned, but accepted the papers. He hated paperwork.

He was finally done and took it back to the guy behind the desk. He said to wait another fifteen minutes or so, so they could get it in the computer and make out her birth certificate and make her social security number.

As soon as Wufei was back to where he left Lian, he was called back by the guy. He went back to see what he wanted.

"You didn't fill out who the mother is," the man pointed out.

Wufei scowled. "I don't want my daughter to have anything to do with her mother. She doesn't care about her daughter, so why should I bother?" he said. "I don't even know where she went. She could be dead for all I know."

The guy looked at him. "Sorry, but unless your daughter's a test tube baby, you have to fill out the mother's information."

"Fine," he sighed and took a pen and quickly wrote the first woman's name who came to his mind: Long Meiran. He also wrote her birthdate. He pushed the paper back to the man and went back to Lian. He sat down in a chair and took her out of the carrier. He tried to get her to eat again and this time she did.

The man behind the counter called Wufei back about twenty minutes later. Hearing his name, he stood up again and brought his baby to the front. The man took her from him to make foot imprints.

"That's a twenty dollar charge for the certificate." he said. Wufei handed him the money and was handed a blue piece of paper. It was another copy of her birth certificate. It wasn't the original copy of the birth certificate, but it was just as good, having her social security number on it and such. "Ok, thanks." the man said and Wufei nodded and put Lian back in her carrier and grabbed the baby bag and headed for the car to go home.

* * *

"Aaa! I'm so glad all the legal work's done with." Wufei sighed in relief as soon as he sat down on the couch with Lian in his arms sucking contently on a pacifier while she slept.

"You're officially mine now," he said and looked at her. "It says so on your birth certificate. Father: Chang Wufei..."

He looked at the ceiling in thought. ".....Chang Lian.... That sounds good doesn't it."

**_R&R please! Constructive criticism very welcome! Sorry again about the courthouse! I just guessed. I've also decided to up the rating to PG-13 for language, just to be safe._**


	6. Chapter Six!

**_This chapter was significantly easier to write than the last, which is a relief. Anyway, thanks for the reviews; and thanks for being honest, TrigunChic! _**

_**I got my provisional license yesterday! I'm so happy! Ahem. Anyway, on with the chapter!**_

_**I do NOT own Gundam Wing, just Lian.**_

_**Gift From the Sea**_

_**Chapter Six**_

Two weeks passed; Lian's umbilical cord fell off when she was a week and 4 days. Wufei had stayed out of work for a week and had also re-organized the house, having places now for all of Lian's stuff, when it used to be just laying around on the floor.

When he finally had to go back to his bookshop, he took Lian with him, making a spot behind the counter for her to stay.

Customers and employees, mostly women, kept on about how cute and adorable she was. The women employees kept wanting to hold her; Wufei had refused for a few days, afraid that someone would drop her, but in the end finally gave in and let them hold her.

He still hadn't bought Lian a crib yet, so she still slept with him. He did buy a changing table and kept it in a corner of the living room. He bought a baby bathtub and shampoo also. He had gotten lots more clothes and little stocking hats. He had gotten socks for her too. More, lots more, diapers, bottles, pacifiers, formula and blankets. He had even bought her some little soft stuffed animals.

Wufei found that Lian liked it much better when he had his hair down instead of pulled back in a ponytail; she seemed more calm and relaxed. Sally said that it was probably because the hair that fell around his face made his features soften a great deal. Or something like that. He wasn't really listening to her at that moment.

So, therefore he suddenly found himself hardly ever wearing his hair up anymore, and when he did the ponytail was always loose, letting some of his bangs fall into his face.

* * *

"Why was it me who found you?" Wufei asked Lian as he walked around the apartment feeding her. Of course, she didn't answer. "Why wasn't it someone else? God knows I'm definitely not qualified to raise a kid," he sighed.

"I sure as hell hope you don't turn out like me. Thrown into a war when you're barely fifteen, getting sent on missions even the most elite of the military wouldn't dare being suspicious of everyone being the enemy....That's not a way to live...." He looked out the kitchen window as he passed by it.

"The war is over now, and peace is obtained, so maybe it can be maintained, and history won't repeat itself. I don't think I can handle another war like the last one..."

Wufei smiled warmly down at Lian. "But let's think positive, ok? You're going to grow up and get a good job, and a good husband, and maybe a kid or two of your own."

He laughed softly to himself. "I guess then that would make me a grandfather...I can't imagine myself like that." He shuddered at his mental image of himself all old, gray, and wrinkled.

"Well, not long ago I would have punched anybody who told me I'd get a kid, and look at me now....I still can hardly believe it." He shook his head and finished feeding her.

* * *

"You're going to have to get Lian a crib soon. She can't keep sleeping in your bed," Sally said as she sat on the couch with Wufei in his apartment a few days later. Lian lay on the floor on a blanket knawing on a stuffed bunny's ear.

"Why?" he asked. "I don't see the point of a crib. My bed is fine."

"Because," she explained patiently. "she could roll off the bed in her sleep, or you could roll on top of her and crush her while you sleep, or any number of things."

"I don't usually roll in my sleep," he said.

"But what if you do? You never know what might happen. It's just safer to get her a crib." She looked at him. "I'll even go with you to pick one out."

Wufei was silent for a while then nodded, understanding that Lian's safety was important. "Ok, we can go this weekend."

"That's four days from now," Sally said. "I don't think so. We can both take tomorrow off and we'll go then. You're not really needed at your store, you know. Your employees can handle you being gone."

"Uh...."

"Great. I'll come by tomorrow around 10. Have Lian and yourself ready," she said and got up to go to the door.

"Wait! You just got here," he said.

"I just remembered I have a meeting to go to," she said. "Bye. See you tomorrow."

"But-" he started but she was already gone.

* * *

"Do you not even have a stroller for Lian?" Sally asked as she carried the baby out of the apartment in her carrier. Wufei was right behind her checking his wallet for money.

"...No," he answered. "Do I need one?"

She sighed. "You're hopeless....It would be a whole lot easier taking her places. You wouldn't have to carry her around all the time."

"Would it hurt her if I didn't get one?"

"No, but it would be so much easier on you." She thought a second. "...Actually, yeah it could hurt her if you carry her around all the time. You could trip and fall and hurt her."

"I don't trip." he said. They stepped off the curb to get to Sally's truck. Wufei missed the step down and stumbled. "Shut up," he said before she could say anything.

Sally just laughed.

* * *

"Here," Sally said handing Wufei a large box. On the front was a picture of a nice looking stroller. His knees threatened to buckle under the unexpected weight.

"Argh....Do we really need something so big?" he asked as he shifted the box's weight so it wasn't so heavy anymore.

"It's the best stroller out right now." she answered. "You _do_ only want Lian to have the best, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed glancing at Lian lying in her carrier in a buggy two feet off. He shook his head, smiling a bit and carried the box to the buggy and set it down beside it.

He went to the baby and took her tiny fists in his hands. "Do you really deserve all this, Lian?" he asked lightheartedly. She looked up at him with her big eyes.

"Wufei, come here," Sally called from a nearby isle. "Bring Lian."

He did, and found her looking at what seemed like hundreds of cribs. Sally took Lian and took her to a nearby crib and sat her down in it.

"Woman, what are you doing?" he asked going up to her.

"Seeing how Lian looks in the crib," she answered.

"What does it matter how she looks in the crib?" he asked taking Lian out of the crib.

"Well, if it doesn't suit her then she'll have trouble sleeping, and that'll mean she'll be fussy, and that means long nights of no sleep for you."

"You sound like you've had kids yourself," Wufei grumbled, but handed the baby back over to Sally. "How are you such a know it all if you've never had any of your own, huh?"

"I've been a doctor long enough to know," she answered simply. Then her face brightened. "Oo! I like that one over there! What do you think Wufei?"

* * *

"We've spent over $400 today," Wufei groaned as they rode home. All the stuff they bought was in the back of the truck. Lian was strapped in the middle seat between Sally and Wufei.

"It's worth it though," Sally answered. "Besides, I'll pay you back half of the cost."

"You are?" he asked.

"Yeah!" she nodded. "You don't expect me to drag you to the mall by your hair and force you to look at cribs and stuff all day and not help pay for it."

"You didn't drag me to the mall by my hair," Wufei said rubbing the base of his loose ponytail. "...You just drug me out of the house by it." he added in an undertone, glaring at his friend.

**_R&R please! As always, I love constructive criticism. _**


	7. Chapter Seven!

_**Thanks for the reviews everyone! I love them all! huggles**_

_**I do NOT own Gundam Wing, just Lian. **_

Gift From the Sea

_**Chapter Seven**_

"How do you even set this up?" Wufei asked in total confusion as he sat in Lian's new bedroom, which used to be the library, with Sally, pieces of unassembled crib scattered everywhere. They had already moved all the books and the chair from the room into the living room.

"Read the instructions," she answered.

"They give no help," he said scanning over the instructions in his hand.

"God, just give them to me!" Sally said and grabbed the paper from him. "I'll read them and you do what I say. Ok, step one..."

* * *

3 hours and 5 cups of coffee (for Wufei's nerves) and thousands of insults from Sally about his ability to follow directions later, the crib was set up exactly as the instructions said.

"Hmm. Do you think it's safe to put Lian in it?" Wufei asked.

"Good point..." Sall agreed, then suddenly picked him up by the waist and placed him inside the crib. He was too surprised to do anything but sit there. The crib didn't do anything. "Yeah. It's safe," she concluded.

Wufei growled and climbed out of the crib. "Woman why the hell did you do that? That wasn't necesarry!" he fumed blushing slightly from embarrassment.

"Because I figured that if the crib held an adult, then it would hold Lian," she answered. "I would have done it myself, but it wouldn't hold my weight and you weigh less than me."

She went to the plastic bag in the corner of the room and pulled out the box holding the one item Wufei actually picked out by himself. It was kinda like a nightlite for inside the crib. It was like an aquarium thingy with little plastic fish in water inside a clear plastic frame. When the lights were out, the thing would make water reflections over the room.

Sally hung the aquarium thing on the far side of the crib. She turned around to congratulate Wufei on a job well done, but he wasn't in the room.

She was about to call out for him, but suddenly he appeared carrying several baby blankets, and a cover sheet for the matress. "Here," he said dropping them to the floor. "We should put these in now."

She nodded and they started getting to work putting the finishing touches to the crib, when suddenly Lian's wails echoed through the apartment. Instantly Wufei was leaving the room to feed her, since it was around time for it. Sally smiled and continued working.

* * *

That night Wufei lay on the couch in the dark living room watching television. It was around 8 pm and he had just put Lian in her crib. He hoped she would sleep the whole night, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. So he enjoyed the peace while it lasted.

To his amazement, Lian slept for seven hours. She woke him up around 3 am. As he crawled out of bed and staggered sleepily through the apartment, he hoped to himself that she would keep on sleeping most of the night.

* * *

Two days later, Saturday, around noon, Wufei was sitting on a bench in the park feeding Lian while eating the food he had bought earlier. She had been very good that day; she had woken up that morning around four and hadn't cried almost at all the whole day. She had only cried when she had woken up and then a few hours later, and then again right before they had left for the park.

Wufei watched all different people go past them as he fed her. Several looked at him warmly as they passed. One guy gave him a disgusted look as if he was disgusted that a _man_ would be taking care of a baby in public. Wufei shot him the best deathglare he could muster.

A while later after Lian had finished her bottle, he was sitting there holding her in his lap and letting her sleep. She was wearing a white onepiece outfit with little green dragons over them. She had on white socks and a light green stocking hat. She had a pacifier in her mouth. Wufei was leaning back on the bench, half lost in his own world.

Not long after, he was jerked back to reality by something hitting his leg. He looked down and saw that it was a little girl no more than three. She had black pigtails and black Asian eyes. She was standing on tiptoe, leaning against his knees trying to look at Lian. "Baby!" she said happily.

A woman, apparently her mother, came running up behind the girl and scooped her up in her arms. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, bowing continuously. "She got away from me before I could stop her!"

"It's fine," he said shaking his head. "She didn't do anything anything wrong."

"No. She's bothered you and your baby," she said. "I'm sorry. She can be so disrespectful."

Again he shook his head. "Forget about it, ok?" he said. "I don't hold anything against you or your daughter."

The woman smiled, bowed again, then left. Wufei smiled to himself and leaned back again in the bench. He looked down at Lian, still asleep, then back at the woman and her little girl. He shook his head in amusement and looked up at the sky.

* * *

A week later around 8 at night, Wufei got a call from Sally saying that Relena had called and invited them both to a get together she was having in two weeks. Sally had said that everyone was going to be there.

"Why didn't she invite me herself instead of relaying it through you?" he asked sitting crosslegged on the couch. He glanced over at the blanket on the floor where Lian was sleeping.

"Relena gave me two reasons when I asked her the same question," Sally said laughing a bit. "One of the reasons is that she was afraid to call you herself, saying that you'd probably chew her out for calling and interrupting you from something. And the second reason is that you never gave anyone but me and Quatre your number and location when you left Japan, making me and Quatre swear an oath to never tell anyone else where you were and how to reach you."

".....Oh," he said. "I did that?" he asked.

"Yeah, you did," she said, amusement in her voice. "I remember it clearly. And I quote, "I'll have your head on a platter if you dare tell _anyone_ my phone number or location. _Especially_ Duo."" she said imitating his voice then laughed.

"I remember that now. It's been so quiet without Duo," he said, looking at the ceiling. "That was a while back, right after the war ended. Four years, I think."

"Three," she corrected.

"That's right," he said.

"So, are you going to accept her invitation or what?"

"I'll go," he said. "I need a change in environment. And it's bound to be interesting since I'm sure Duo's going to be there."

"Yeah," she said smiling.

"But it'll be nice. I have to admit that it _is_ a little dull without Duo around."

"You miss him don't you?" Sally teased. "Come on, admit it!"

"...I do admit that sometimes his company was.......pleasant and his idiotic antics were sometimes welcome."

"Ok! I'll call Relena and tell her we're both going!" she said.

"When is it, exactly?" Wufei asked.

"Friday, two weeks from now, at 6," she said. "She's having it in Kyoto, Japan."

"Why Japan?" he asked in confusion.

"Who knows," Sally said.

They talked for a few more minutes about nothing then said their goodbyes and hung up.

**_R&R please! Constructive Criticism is welcome as always! _**


	8. Chapter Eight!

**_It's been a while! Here's the next chapter. Not much to say, so I'll shut up and get on with it. _**

_**I do NOT own Gundam Wing; just Lian. **_

Gift From the Sea

**_Chapter Eight_**

Two weeks later on Thursday morning around 4, Wufei woke up before Lian did and packed his and Lian's clothes. He packed her diaper bag full with blankets, diapers, toys, pacifiers bottles, formula, and anything else he thought she'd need. Whatever didn't fit in the bag he put in the suitcase carrying his shampoo and stuff.

As soon as he finished zipping his last suitcase, Lian's cries echoed through the apartment. He got her up and fed her then he gave her a bath.

"Today you get to go on your first trip," Wufei said to Lian as he washed her hair, careful to not let any shampoo or water in her eyes. "You won't remember it when you get older, but that's ok."

She kicked water all over his shirt he had slept in. "It's a good thing I haven't changed yet," he said in amusement.

"You'll get to meet my old friends when we get to Japan," he continued, now gently washing her tiny feet.

After he finished Lian's bath and dried her off, he carried her, still wrapped in a towel, into her bedroom and layed her on the changing table and got her a diaper and clean clothes. The clothes were a light blue one piece with light blue socks and a light blue stocking hat with little white lions all over it.

He carried her into his bedroom and lay her on the bed before going into the bathroom to take a shower. As always he left the door open so he could hear her if she cried.

He decided to dress in black jeans and a white t-shirt with black hiking boots. He brushed his hair then loosely tied it in a ponytail, some of his bangs falling in his face.

Wufei came back in his bedroom and found Lian asleep again. He gave her a small smile then picked her up gently and carried her into the living room. He put her in her carrier/carseat and strapped her up without waking her. He put her on the couch then left to get the suitcases and her stroller.

* * *

Sally came by to pick them up in her truck not too long after. Wufei agreed to ride with her, saying that it would be easier to go in one vehicle than go in two since they were going to the same place. She loaded his luggage in the bed of her truck and Wufei strapped Lian, still asleep, in the middle of the truck seat.

After everything was secure they got in the truck and left for the airport.

They got there two hours later; Wufei had fallen asleep against the door with his forehead resting against the window.

After Sally found a parking spot, she hit the down button on his window to wake him up. He jerked awake, eyes wide. He quickly figured what had happened and glared at her.

"That wasn't funny," he told her irritably. He unlocked the door and got out.

* * *

When they had found the right terminal, they only had a 30 minute wait. They found a place to sit and got comfortable.

Wufei looked down at Lian, who had awoken on the elevator when it had started, and considered taking her out or not. He decided not to since it wasn't bothering her to just lay there.

* * *

Thirty minutes passed quickly enough and soon they were on board a plane to Japan. Lian got the empty window seat next to Wufei.

Before they took off, Lian looked around wide eyed at the unfamiliar noise of the engines starting, but didn't do anything; however, as soon as the plane left the ground, she started fussing at the strange feeling. Wufei tried to calm her down the best he could without taking her out of the carrier since he wasn't allowed yet. Once he was allowed, he took her out and held her until she fell asleep.

* * *

Four hours later the plane landed in Tokyo. Duo and Heero was standing at the gate waiting on them.

"What are you doing here?" Wufei asked.

"Relena tipped us off that you would be here today," Duo said all smiles. "So we decided to be your welcome wagon!"

Duo suddenly grinned wider and jumped at Wufei, hugging him tight. "Wufei! I missed your ranting so much!"

"Let go of me! Damn you, Duo!" Wufei said loudly struggling. "Let..._go!_" He finally wrenched himself free and shoved Duo away with his free arm.

Heero noticed Wufei holding something covered with a light purple blanket. "Wufei, why are you holding a baby carrier?" he asked simply.

"Hm? Oh! I forgot you don't know about her. This is my daughter," he said motioning to the carrier. "Her name is Lian."

Duo and Heero just stared stunned. Finally Duo spoke up. "You?! Chang "Stick Up My Ass" "All women are weak" Wufei knocked up a girl?!" Duo said in disbelief. He then paled and slowly looked at Sally standing behind Wufei. "Sally, are _you_-"

"No I am _not_ that baby's mother!" she replied defensively. "I don't even want to _think_ of getting laid by Wufei!" she shuddered.

Wufei blushed horribly. "Sally!" he said trying to shut her up.

Duo laughed. "I can't imagine Wufei screwing _anybody_." He closed his eyes. "I now have disturbing mental images....Thank you Sally."

"_Hey!_" Wufeiglared, blushing even worse.

Heero yanked Duo's braid. "Shut up, Duo," he said simply then looked at Wufei. "I would like to see your daughter," he said.

Sally suggested they go to the seats nearby so they wouldn't be in the way. Once there, Wufei put down the carrier and pulled back the blanket revealing Lian fast asleep under a white baby blanket with little yellow ducks with pink ribbons on their necks.

"She's so cute and tiny!" Duo said bouncing up and down.

Heero nodded in agreement. "You said her name is Lian, right?" he asked Wufei who nodded. "Who's the mother?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

Duo stared at him. "You don't _know_ who you screwed?" he asked earning a smack from Heero for his lack of tact. "How did you come about the baby then? Did the baby appear on your doorstep with a note saying 'you screwed me, I got pregnant, here's the baby.'?" he asked then laughed. "Wow Wufei! You sure have changed in the three years you've been gone."

"That's _not_ what happened!" Wufei said in exasperation. "I didn't screw _anyone!_" He then proceeded to explain how he really came about getting Lian.

"Wow, Wufei..." Duo said softly then slowly grinned. "So! You're still a virgin, huh?" he said. "I can still tease you about it!"

_"Duo..." _Wufei growled, glaring daggers at him.

"Ah don't worry! Heero hasn't gotten laid yet either!" he replied slapping his Japanese friend on the back.

"Duo!" Heero warned.

"Ah, I'm sorry Hee-chan!" he said with big puppy eyes.

"You mean you're not together?" Sally asked.

Heero looked at Duo then back at Sally. "That's an insulting question, Sally," he said simply. "Besides, I'm not even gay."

"We're not together, we just share an apartment here!" Duo smiled hugging on Heero who shoved him off.

"Where are you two staying, Sally?" Heero asked looking at Wufei who was leaning over Lian checking on her.

"We're staying in a new hotel in Kyoto. It's called Sakura Dreams Hotel," she responded.

"Ooo, that's a nice hotel," Duo said seriously.

"You should go get your luggage," Heero said suddenly. "I'm sure it's out of the plane by now."

"Right!" Sally said and called for Wufei to come on. He put the blanket back over the carrier and followed.

"So do you think you two could stop by our apartment before you go to Kyoto?" Duo asked as he and Heero helped Sally and Wufei retrieve their luggage.

"Can't," Wufei said unfolding Lian's stroller. He put Lian in it carrier-and-all until he could find a place to stop and take her out. "We have to check in the inn by three."

"Wufei, it's only ten-thirty," Sally said. "We'll have plenty of time."

"We have an hour long train ride to Kyoto," he said. "If we go to the apartment we'll lose track of time and miss our deadline."

"You're no fun, Fei!" Duo said crossing his arms looking genuinely disappointed. "We just met again after all these years and now you're wanting to run off again," he said his voice dripping with sadness.

He stared at his friend for a long time until he finally sighed. "I never said you and Heero couldn't come to Kyoto with us," he said, getting a bright smile from Duo.

"Come on," Heero said. "Our car's outside."

* * *

They reached the inn in about an hour and thirty minutes. Once Sally and Wufei checked in they went to their seperate rooms and started to unpack. Heero helped Wufei unpack and Duo helped Sally.

"Do you like having a daughter, Wufei?" Heero asked quietly looking at Lian sleeping on a pillow on the bed. He was hanging up Wufei's clothes in the closet.

"I do," Wufei answered from the bathroom; he was putting his toothbrush and things on the sink. "It's a lot of work taking care of her, but it's worth it."

"Of all of us, you were the last person I expected to ever have a child. Even though you aren't her biological father."

Wufei came into the bedroom. "I don't want you to mention that around Lian. I really don't want her to find out," he said then looked at him. "Please."

"I won't mention it again," he promised.

Wufei smiled warmly at his friend. "Thank you," he said. "Are we done unpacking?" he asked changing the subject.

"Yes."

"Good!" he said in relief. He glanced over at Lian. "Would you like to hold her?" he asked.

"Hold...a baby?" Heero asked looking at her. "I don't think I should. I'll hurt her."

"Nonesense," he replied. "As long as you don't drop her or hold her too tight, you won't hurt her."

"I'll drop her," he said.

"If you knew you wouldn't hurt her would you want to?" he asked.

"I guess so."

"Then sit on the bed," he instructed picking up his sleeping daughter. "You can hold her better if you sit."

Heero did as he was told and Wufei handed him Lian who woke up during the transfer of herself. Wufei almost laughed watching Heero try and hold her properly. Finally he had to show him how.

"She's so light," Heero said looking at Lian who was staring back up at him with huge eyes.

"She's a month old," he said proudly. "She's growing fast. Way faster than I thought she would."

"You really care for her, don't you," Heero said.

"I do," Wufei admitted sitting next to him. "It's odd. I've never cared for anything so much before. When I first decided to take her in, I never expected to love her as I do. Sometimes when she won't stop crying I think to myself 'is Lian worth all the headaches and constant worry?', and then later she'll give me the brightest, happiest smile I've ever seen and I realize that, yes, she is worth it." he said thoughtfully.

"You've changed, Wufei," Heero said handing back the baby. "Three years ago you would have never have told anyone your feelings. The baby has changed you."

"For the better I hope?" he asked not looking up from Lian who was cooing happily and holding one of his fingers in her fist.

"Yes. For the better," he nodded.

**_R&R please! Constructive criticism is welcomed with open arms!_**


	9. Chapter Nine!

**_This was a hard chapter to write! I'm glad to get it finished. Thank you all for your reviews on the last chapter! I love every one of them. _**

I do NOT own Gundam Wing or its characters. Only Lian.

_**Gift From the Sea**_

_**Chapter Nine **_

The next morning around nine, Wufei was awake and was getting himself and Lian ready to go to meet Relena and everyone for the first time after three years.

Lian had been very fussy all that morning. Wufei couldn't find anything wrong with her so he figured she was just in a bad mood.

"You're going to have to stop that, Lian" he said trying to get clothes on her. She wouldn't stop fussing, squirming, and kicking.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you being so difficult" he asked, finishing clothing the child. He took a pacifier and stuck it in her mouth. She was quiet for a moment, but finally spat it out and continued fussing.

Wufei picked Lian up and instantly she stopped crying. He looked at her and she looked at him. She cooed.

"What is up with you this morning" he asked giving her a strange look and got her bottle and formula from the diaper bag. He went into th kitchen and made her bottle. She drunk it all quickly.

"Were you hungry or what" he commented and put the bottle away. He contemplated making her another one, but decided against it.

* * *

"You ready to go" Sally said coming into Wufei's hotel room an hour later. Before he could ask how she got into the locked room, she held up his spare card key. "I swiped it from your wallet when we checked in" she said. 

"I wondered where it went" Wufei muttered finishing putting on his shoes. "You could have knocked, you know" he complained as he picked up Lian and put her in her stroller.

"Oh stop your whining and let's go" she smiled and grabbed the diaper bag and left the room with him following behind with Lian. "So, you ready to see everyone again" she asked.

"As ready as I can be" he sighed.

Sally looked back at him. "What's up with you" she asked. "You don't sound too happy about it."

"I'm fine" he said. "I would just rather"

"-Rather stay home and practice katas and meditate all day," she finished grinning.

He pressed the down button on the elevator. "Something like that" he said.

They got on the elevator and started going down after the doors closed. She looked at Lian, who was beginning to fuss again. "Just think of it as a chance to introduce Lian to your friends" she said gently to him.

He looked at her and gave a soft smile. He looked down at Lian. "Yeah. That's a good way to look at it" he said.

* * *

"There you are! Finally" Relena greeted when she answered the door. "Did you get lost? Everyone's here already." 

"No, we did _not_ get lost" Wufei said irritably going past her in the house.

"Don't lie, Wufei" Sally said. She smiled at Relena. "Yes, we got lost" she said.

"That's ok. It's a big city" she said closing the door after them.

"Where can I put this" Wufei asked talking about the stroller.

"I'll take it" Relena said going to take the stroller. She watched him take the baby out. She smiled. "Are you babysitting, Sally" she asked. "Is that why you guys brought a baby"

"Nope" she grinned. "And neither is Wufei. That's _his_ daughter."

Relena looked floored. "What! Really" she said and stared at him holding Lian while scowling slightly.

"Don't stare at me like that" he said and turned and left, looking for everyone else.

He found them all in the huge living room, with the exception of Duo who was busy digging through the fridge.

"Wufei" Quatre said happily, getting up. "How have you been? You seem well."

He went to Wufei and smiled brightly. "Let me take the baby with the others, ok" he said.

He handed Lian to him. For some reason he completely trusted Quatre with her. "Be careful, ok" he said after him.

"I will! I promise" he answered going down the hall into another room. "She's so cute"

"So you have a kid too, Wufei" Trowa said wamly in his quite voice. He was lounging on a couch. Heero was leaning against the wall.

"Too? You have one, Trowa" he asked sitting down in a chair across from him.

"I don't, but Catherine does. She has two. They're in the bedroom with yours. I'm babysitting for the week" he said and looked back towards where Quatre disappeared. "Quatre has one on the way."

"He does" Wufei said in surprise.

Trowa noded. "It's due in six months."

"That's right" Quatre answered coming back into the room. "Amy would have come here too, but she went to her uncle's funeral. I would have stayed with her, but she convinced me to come."

"Are you married or what, Quatre" Heero asked.

"Found it" Duo cried triumphantly from the kitchen. Everyone turned to look at him. He was holding a bottle of Jack Daniels. "Sorry..." he said grinning and came and sat down with the rest of them.

"No, I'm not married" Quatre answered Heero.

"But you will be soon" Duo added. "Am I right" he laughed.

"How did you"

"I know you too well."

Relena and Sally came in just then.

"Sally told me that Lian isn't _your_ daughter, Wufei" Relena said.

"Huh" Quatre and Trowa said in confusion.

"She's not yours, Wufei" Quatre asked.

"Yes, but she's not my biological daughter" Wufei answered.

"You adopted! That's wonderful" Quatre said happily.

Wufei gave a slight smile and explained how he got Lian. When he finished Quatre spoke.

"Wufei, that's illegal" he said softly.

"What" he said.

"It is! You have to legally adopt her. And you forged her birth certificate"

"I didn't forge"

"It's the same thing! You lied about being her real father! That's illegal. It's considered kidnapping if you're caught"

"Why would it be kidnapping? If I hadn't have rescued her then Lian would be dead"

"I understand that, Wufei, but the laws won't change..." Quatre said.

Duo spoke up. "Let's just forget about it for now. I'm sure Fei's fine" he said.

"Thank you" Wufei said.

* * *

Wufei decided to go when Lian woke up and started to cry. He had been there for three hours anyway. 

"I'll see you guys" he said putting Lian in the stroller.

"You're going so soon" Duo asked. He had abandoned the Jack Daniels after Heero threatened to bash it over his head if he didn't stop inhaling it.

"Lian's tired. She's had a long day today" he answered and looked at Sally. "You can stay if you want. I can make to the hotel on my own."

"Just don't get lost again" she teased.

He blushed slightly in embarassment and scowled at her.

"See you" she laughed.

Quatre got up and went to his friend. "Look, if you ever need help with Lian or whatever, you can call me."

"I know" Wufei answered.

"Here's my new number" he said and wrote it on a napkin and gave it to him. "Call me anytime you need me, or if you just want to talk."

"Thank you" he said and was instantly pulled into a tight hug.

He pried Quatre off after a second. "I'll see you guys" he said and left the apartment with Lian.

**_RR please! Constructive criticism is always welcome with open arms! _**


	10. Chapter Ten!

**Wow! I haven't updated in a while, have I? This chapter has been hard to write for some reason and I've also had school to focus on (I have to study for the graduation test .). But anyway, here's the newest chapter.**

**Oh! Just so you know, The story has moved forward several years, so no one is confused. **

**I do NOT own Gundam Wing or any of its characters, but I do own Lian. **

**Gift From the Sea**

**  
Chapter Ten**

Lian grew to four years old and was an extremely happy and healthy girl. She was beginning to learn to read, which made Wufei very proud.

All her life he had spoiled her, but at the same time was strict, honoring family traditions and never allowing the child to get too out of line.

Once a year Wufei, Heero, Quatre, Trowa, Duo, Sally, and Relena would get together for a weekend. Lian loved playing with Quatre's child, which was a girl named Holly. They got along well considering the fact that Lian only knew Chinese and no one else, with the exception of Wufei and Sally, did.

One Saturday morning around seven AM while Wufei was getting ready for work and to take Lian to the sitter, the doorbell rang.

"I got it!" Lian called and ran past Wufei to the door. She flung it open and three policemen were standing on the other side.

"Hi!" she greeted brightly.

"Is your father home?" one asked.

"Yep! There he is!" she said and pointed to Wufei who had just then come into the room.

"Are you Chang Wufei?" the policeman asked.

Wufei stepped up beside Lian and looked at him. "That's right," he said. "Why do you ask?"

Suddenly the three cops moved in and grabbed him. One wrenched his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.

"What the hell is this!" Wufei demanded struggling instinctively against his cuffs, but soon stilled.

"You're under arrest for kidnapping-"

"You're joking!" he burst.

The cop continued to read him his rights. Wufei felt extremely sick.

Lian took hold of his shirt-tail and clung to him. "Daddy?" she said, clearly scared.

He looked down at her and dropped to his knees beside her. "Lian-"

"Why are they taking you away, Daddy?" she asked near tears.

"It's...complicated," he said. "But I won't be gone for long."

She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Promise?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Wufei looked past her shoulder and stared off for a second. He might not be able to keep that promise. He sighed. "I promise," he said.

"Let's go," an officer said and pulled him to his feet after he kissed his daughter gently on the cheek.

They were halfway out the door when Lian started to scream. Instantly Wufei spun around and saw one of the cops trying to pick her up to take her away also.

"Lian, it's ok!" Wufei said to her. "Go with them! They'll take care of you."

"I don't want to go, Daddy!" she cried, tears running down her face. "I don't want you to go either!"

"I know, but you have to," he said. "Be good and go with them, ok?"

Lian stared at the man holding her before going limp in his arms. The cop who had Wufei pushed him a little to get him to walk. "Come on, let's go," he said.

Wufei lowered his head and did as he was told.

"Where are you taking her?" he asked in the backseat of the police car.

"She'll be sent to a foster home," the cop said. "She'll be well taken care of. Don't worry."

"Good," he said and leaned back and watched the car with Lian in it drive away. He bit his lip to keep the tears at bay as he saw her wave sadly to him in the window.

* * *

Once at the local prison, Wufei was stripped of all his clothes and possessions and was given a drug test and all the standard procedures. Afterwards he was given prison clothes and had his mug shot taken.

When he finally was allowed his phone call, he immediately called Sally.

"Wufei?" Sally said irritably when he called. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait until lunch. I have to work, so bye."

"I'm in prison!" he said quickly before she hung up.

"What!" she said in shock. "What did you do!"

"Somehow they found out that Lian isn't my daughter. It's illegal to keep a child without a legal adoption, you know."

"What should I do?" she asked.

"I want you to get me a lawyer for starters; I don't care about the cost. And I want you to check on Lian every now and then until I get out of here. She's at Sacred Angel's Foster Care Center."

"I'll do my best. Anything else?"

"Just one more thing."

"What?" she asked.

"Thank you...for being there for me. It...it means a lot," he said softly with a slight blush.

Sally smiled. "You're welcome," she answered.

**Sorry the chapter's so short. I'll try to get the next one up soon.**

**Read and Review, please! Constructive criticism is welcome with open arms!**


	11. Chapter Eleven!

**_Thanks for everyone who reviewed! It makes me happy to know that people actually read and like my story. _**

Anywho! On with the chapter!

I do NOT own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Just Lian.

Gift From the Sea

_**  
Chapter Eleven**_

'I can't believe I have to wear this crap!' Wufei thought bitterly as he was ushered into his cell, which he would be sharing with three other men. He was wearing the normal orange prison clothing.

When the cell door opened and he saw his cellmates, he groaned inwardly. 'Great! They're muscle-bound men with hideous tattoos and bad hygiene...' he thought.

Wufei's cuffs were taken off and he was pushed inside and the door closed and locked behind him.

The guys stared at him with nasty grins on their faces. "Look at what we have here!" one with long black hair said. "He's as cute as a girl!"

The other two snickered. "What's your name?" one asked, coming over to Wufei. He tried to touch him, but the smaller man sidestepped him and smacked his hand away.

"Try to touch me again and I will not hesitate to shove my foot down your throat," Wufei said softly, but in a tone that showed that he wasn't bluffing. He gave them all a brilliant death-glare and the guys sulked back to their own bunks.

Wufei's bunk was on the top, so he climbed up and lay down.

* * *

The next morning as Wufei walked down to the shower room, he discovered something. His prison clothes itched horribly. "Dammit!" he said aloud when he was attacked yet again by a horrid persistent itch on his lower leg.

"What's wrong with you, girly?" a guy taunted.

Wufei ignored him and continued walking. He did _not_ like the idea of taking a public shower with at least twenty sex-deprived men. He remembered Duo joking about something like this a few years back while they were watching a movie about prison. What was it that he said again?

Oh yes! He remembered now!

"Never drop the soap!" His braided friend warned.

Wufei shook his head to get rid of the thoughts associated with that. He did _not_ want to go there!

He wondered if any of his friends had heard about his situation yet.

He faltered in his walking and was shoved unceremoniously forward by the guy behind him. Wufei cursed the man under his breath and continued walking.

* * *

"Chang, you have a visitor," the prison-guard said later that day.

Wufei, who had been trying to doze off on his bunk, sat up and looked at him. "Who is it?" he asked.

"How would I know?" he shrugged.

He hopped down from his bunk and exited the cell after being handcuffed again.

He was led down a hall into a lounge room or something. Sitting on one of the couches was Sally, some woman he had never seen before, and Quatre.

Wufei was uncuffed and the officer exited the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

Instantly Quatre jumped up and hugged his friend tightly. "I came as soon as I heard!" he said. "Are you alright? Nothing horrible has happened to you here has it?"

"I'm fine, I promise you," he said patting him on the shoulder once he was released. "I'm just worried about Lian..."

Sally spoke up. "She's doing fine," she answered. "I checked on her this morning. She's extremely upset, but other than that she's alright."

"Good..." he said and sat in the couch opposite her. "Who's this?" he asked, meaning the woman.

"Forgive me!" Quatre said. "This is Lia Magny. She's your lawyer; the best in this part of the world."

Lia stood up and shook Wufei's hand and sat back down. She opened her briefcase on the coffee table and started taking out papers. "This is your criminal record and other financial documents. On this page," she held up a sheet. "is my rate. If you accept, I'll get to work on your defense."

Wufei started to read over the papers he was handed, but Quatre took them from him. "Don't worry about it," he told him. "I'm taking care of it."

"Good," Lia said. She pulled out another sheet of paper. "Then would you please sign on this line?" she asked Wufei, holding out the paper and a pen. He signed it and she took it back and closed her briefcase. "Thank you," she said. "I'll schedule an appointment to meet with you to discuss your case. That will probably be in two days."

Lia Magny then stood up and left the room after shaking everyone's hands again and saying her goodbye.

Wufei noticed Quatre staring at him with an odd look on his face. "What?" he asked leaning away from him unconsciously.

"Nothing," Quatre said then made a face. "I just can't get over how awful your clothes look!"

"It's not like I have a choice!"

"I know, I know," he sighed.

Wufei turned to Sally. "Do you think it's possible for Lian to come see me?" he asked.

"No," she said. "You're charged with kidnapping her, remember? I don't think that the county will let the "kidnapper" see the "kidnapee"."

"Good point, but I don't think I can go for two weeks without seeing her," he said slumping down on the couch.

"Why two weeks?" Quatre asked.

"It's the court date," Wufei and Sally said in unison.

"Oh. I'll definitely be there, then. Just give me the exact date."

The three talked for another fifteen minutes before the prison guard came to take Wufei back to his cell.

Before being handcuffed again, Quatre ran up and hugged him tightly. He seemed to be trying hard not to tear up. "I'll come by again soon," he said and let him go.

Suddenly Sally hugged him. "We'll get you out soon," she said softly.

Wufei was then handcuffed and led away.

* * *

"So," Lia said two days later. The two were sitting in the lounge area. "If you want me to help you, you have to be completely honest with me. I want to hear your whole story about this situation."

"But what if I'm actually guilty?" he asked softly.

Her eyebrow rose. "If you are, it's not my job to care about that. It's my job to make you innocent."

He then told her the whole story about how he came to have Lian. He left nothing out and changed no details. The whole time Lian was audiotaping and writing things down.

"Is that it?" she asked when he was finished. He nodded. "Well, it does seem that you are indeed guilty, however good your intentions were."

He hung his head.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked. He looked up at her. "Why didn't you just give her to the orphanage? Or why didn't you get a legal adoption?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know..." he said miserably. "I guess I didn't think it over..."

"I don't disagree with you there," she said earning a sharp look from him. She cleared her throat. "Fortunately, I think I can come up with a valid case for you."

"You can?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes. I'll discuss it with you during our next appointment, which will be in two days," she said. "Our time today is up, so I'll see you then."

She stood and packed up her briefcase and left after shaking his hand again.

* * *

The next day after lunch Wufei and about twenty other prisoners got to go outside to excercise or just enjoy the outdoors.

Wufei, like some other guys, contented themselves with sitting at a wooden picnic table near the super tall fence containing them all. Some guys at the table was playing poker and some were just doing nothing.

A guy who looked to be around his mid-twenties came over to Wufei and sat next to him at the table.

"I heard you're in here for kidnapping a kid," he said. "So did you do it?"

"I didn't steal her from her parents if that's what you mean," Wufei said darkly. "But, yes, that's what I'm in here for."

"So you're innocent!"

"Leave me alone," he said softly. He wanted to think about Lian, but couldn't if the man wouldn't go away.

"What's your problem?" he asked. "I'm just trying to talk to you."

He looked at him. "I don't want to talk," he said.

The man glared at him. "Fine!" he said in an almost angry voice. He got up and walked away. Wufei heard him mutter "Bastard!" as he was walking away.

Wufei sighed. He wondered what Lian was doing right then. Was she scared? He wouldn't admit it, but he was terrified. He was so afraid that he would lose his case and would never see Lian again. He couldn't imagine it.

How he longed to hold her in his arms again...

**_R&R please! C.C. is welcome with open arms as always! _**


	12. Chapter Twelve!

_**Thanks to those who reviewed!  
Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. My computer died, so I had to wait for it to be fixed. **_

_**I do NOT own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Just Lian.**_

**_Gift From the Sea _**

Chapter Twelve

Sally parked in front of the foster home Lian was staying in. It was a nice two-story home run by a couple in their mid-forties. About eight other children were living in the home besides Lian.

She went up onto the front porch and rang the doorbell. Soon a boy around twelve came to the door and let her in. Once inside she was greeted by Mrs. Quan, the woman who ran the home with her husband.

"You're here to see Lian again?" Mrs. Quan asked with a smile.

"That's right," Sally answered. "How is she?"

"I would be lying if I said she was happy," the woman said. "She misses her father and often cries because she wants to see him and wants to go home. She doesn't understand that it's not possible right now...She's upstairs in her room. I'll take you to her."

Mrs. Quan led Sally upstairs and down a hall. At a door she stopped and knocked before sticking her head inside. "Hi there, Lian," she said kindly. "You have someone here to see you."

She moved aside and let Sally inside. Lian was sitting cross-legged on her twin bed. She was looking at a picture book with a few words on each page. She was also holding a stuffed frog she had recieved from her father for her birthday.

Lian looked up to see who it was and her face instantly brightened. "Sally!" she squealed and jumped up and leaped at the woman who caught her out of reflex.

Mrs. Quan smiled and slipped quietly out the door.

"Are you here to take me home, Sally? Please say you are!" Lian said with her huge pleading eyes. "I want to see Daddy! Why can't I see him?"

Sally sat down on the bed and let go of the girl. "I can't take you home just yet...Don't look at me like that!"

"Where's Daddy?" she asked now near tears.

"He's...still staying in town..."

"He's in jail, isn't he? Because he did something bad," she said looking at the floor.

"What? What makes you say that?"

"Tei told me that Daddy did something bad and he's in jail..." she said. She grabbed Sally's hands in hers and stared up at her with tear filled eyes. "Why did he say that? Did Daddy really do something bad!"

Sally stroked the little girl's hair soothingly. "...Yes, your father _is_ in jail. But he didn't do anything bad."

"If he didn't do anything, then why is he-"

"He just made a mistake is all. Once the mistake is cleared up he'll come home and you'll get to go home with him," she said with a gentle smile.

"Promise?" Lian asked crawling in her lap.

"Promise," she smiled.

Sally then picked up the book the girl had been looking at. "Baby Frog Has Lost His Mother," she read the title. "Are you reading this?" she asked.

Lian shook her head. "The words are too big for me..." she said. "Daddy read it to me sometimes, though."

Sally smiled and flipped through the book. It was still a bit hard for her to picture Wufei reading bedtime stories.

* * *

"Plead innocent!" Duo cried a few days later during his and Heero's visit with Wufei at the prison. "Dammit, Wufei! You didn't do anything wrong, so you shouldn't be punished for it! If it wasn't for you then Lian would be dead! If anyone should be punished, they should punish her mother!" 

Duo sat back, fuming. He glared at Heero, who had been quiet ever since they had arrived. "Well, Heero? Don't you have anything to say?"

"No, you were loud enough for the both of us," Heero said in a neutral voice. "Besides, you've already said what I was going to say."

Wufei smiled a little. "Thanks you guys," he said softly. "I appreciate you coming all the way here to see me."

"It's nothing! We're pals, Fei! That's what pals do." Duo looked around the room suddenly with an odd look in his eyes. He leaned in closer to Wufei and whispered, "I noticed coming in here that the security is pretty lax, so if you're convicted we can bust you out!"

"Are you insane?" Wufei cried jumping back from him.

"I'm joking!" he said shaking his head. His eyes then narrowed slyly. "But hey...If you ever decide you want to..."

"Idiot," Heero said and smacked him dismissively. He looked at Wufei. "Do you get an allowance here?"

"Yes, I get paidforty-one Yuan (1)a day. I'm saving it all up to buy Lian a gift. It's been almost a week since I've seen her last..." he said and sighed sadly and looked at the floor. "Dammit..." he said softly in a near whisper.

Suddenly he felt an hand touch his shoulder softly. He looked up and was surprised to see it belonged to Heero. "It's going to be all right," he said a bit awkwardly. He wasn't used to comforting anyone. "Everything will work out."

Wufei stared at him until Heero removed his hand from his shoulder, cleared his throat, and sat back in the couch.

* * *

For two hours the next day, Wufei sat in a room with his lawyer discussing the upcoming trial. 

"From the evidence against you," Lia said gravely. "you look extremely guilty."

"What can we do?" he asked in concern.

"Well there's two options."

"I'm listening," he said.

"The first thing you could do is to plead innocent and try our hardest to make you seem so," she said. "And the other thing you could do is to plead guilty and explain to the judge why you did what you did. If your story goes over well with the judge, he may let you visit Lian in her new home."

"But there's also a chance that I may never get to see her again. I can't lose her," Wufei said. He shook his head. "I can't plead guilty."

"Well, then we have a lot of work ahead of us..."

* * *

(1) 41 Yuan 5 

**_R&R, please! Constructive Criticism is welcome with open arms!_**


	13. Chapter Thirteen!

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I love reviews! **_

_**I must announce that this is the last chapter. I hope everyone likes it. I've had fun writing this story. I might make a sequel chapter, but I'm not positive yet.**_

**_Anyway, on with the chapter!  
_**

_**I do NOT own Gundam Wing or its characters. I do own Lian, however.**_

_**Gift From the Sea**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

"Chang," a prison guard said as he made his rounds handing out items to the prisoners. He handed Wufei a large stuffed toy frog. Wufei got a few odd stares as he reached out from the bars and took it.

He climbed up on his bunk and lay back on his pillow with the frog lying on his stomach. The day before, he had asked the guard to get it for him. He paid for it, of course, with the money he had been saving up. It was a gift for Lian.

One of his cell mates reached out to grab the toy, but before he could react, Wufei had jumped off the bunk and threw the bigger man against the wall. "Don't _ever_ think about touching anything of mine again!" Wufei hissed dangerously. "If you do I swear to every god in existence that I willmake you regret it!"

The man swallowed hard and nodded, knowing Wufei was serious. He had witnessed him go off on another man who dared to cross him.Wufei didn't get in trouble as it was in self-defense.

Wufei let him go roughly and got back on his bed.

* * *

Sally came to visit him the day before the trial. 

"Will you give this to Lian?"Wufei asked handing her the toy frog. "I bought it for her earlier this week."

"She'll love it!" Sally assured taking the frog from him and putting it in her lap, smiling brightly.

He smiled softly. "Lian's going through a frog phase," he said fondly. "But of course you know that. She's been wanting everything to do with frogs for the last few months. A few days before..." he broke off and sighed. "...Before all this happened, she asked for a pet tree frog..."

She saw the distant look in his eye and smiled gently and reached over and hugged him. He just sat there without any response for a bit, but soon he turned and buried his face in her shoulder, fighting off the tears.

"It's going to be alright," Sally said stroking his hair softly. "You'll see."

He shook his head. "It might not...I might never get to see her again..." He took a deep breath and looked up at her with tears brimming his eyes. "Sally, I'm scared..."

Never had she ever seen him so vulnerable. It was a bit unnerving, but she was determined not to show it."I know," she said gently. "But we have to hope for the best."

* * *

Later that day Sally went to visit Lian at the foster home to give her Wufei's gift. 

"Sally!" Lian cried from the stairs when the woman entered. The girl was wearing jeans and a light green t-shirt with a kitten on it. He hair was put up in pigtails.

Lian took a suicidal leap from the eighth step and ran to her. She hugged her tightly. "Mr. Quan said that I can see Daddy tomorrow if I'm good!" she said with uncontainable excitement.

Sally smiled brightly. "Are you being good, then?"

She grinned and nodded vigorously. "I've cleaned my room, and ate all my food, and I even helped dust!"

"Good! Your father will be proud to hear it."

"Will I get to go home tomorrow?" Lian asked hopefully.

"Maybe," she answered and the girl's face fell a bit. Sally held up the toy frog then. "But here, look. Your father bought this for you. Do you like it?"

Lian grabbed it and hugged it tight. "I love it! I'll name him Legs," she said seriously, her huge black eyes looking up at her.

Sally smiled at her cuteness. She stayed a while longer before leaving despite Lian's tears.

* * *

Chang, let's go," the prison guard said the next morning. It was the morning of the trial. Wufei, who hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, got up and left his cell not saying a word to anyone. Once out, he was handcuffed and led outside to a cop car. 

Wufei stopped and looked around him, taking a deep breath. He had never guessed how wonderful it felt to walk outside without a gate surrounding him. He was put into the car and was driven off to the courthouse.

As he rode, Wufei wondered if Lian would be allowed to go to the trial. He hoped so. He hadn't seen her in two weeks; longer than he had ever gone without seeing her before. Besides, if he lost the case, he wanted to see her one last time.

* * *

Once inside the courthouse, after fighting through several news reporters, he was met by his lawyer, Lia. He was uncuffed and led into an empty hall with a door at the end of it. The noise of many people talking were heard. 

"Are there many people in there?" Wufei asked quietly. He was starting to feel even more nervous than he already was.

Lia nodded. "The whole courtroom is full. This story has been leaked into the media and now everyone wants to see how it turns out."

"...God..." he said swallowing hard.

She patted his back gently. "Relax. If you're worked up when we get in there, you won't be able to defend yourself properly. It's going to be ok."

"Are you sure?"

"...No, but you have to keep positive thoughts," she said apologetically. "Alright, let's go."

They walked through the double wooden doors into the noisy courtroom. Two policemen were standing guard at the door. Lia hadn't been lying. The courtroom was packed full. He instantly spotted Sally, Duo, Heero, and Quatre, but didn't see Trowa or Lian anywhere.

He had decided that Lian wasn't there when suddenly her voice cried out over the crowd. "Daddy!" she cried. "Daddy!"

Wufei's head shot towards her voice and saw Lian standing up on a bench waving madly with both arms. She was holding the toy frog he had given her in one hand. A man was holding her, seeming to be trying to get her to sit.

Wufei smiled brightly at his daughter and felt his eyes sting with tears. He looked down and blinked several times refusing to cry.

Lia opened the gate at the end of the aisle and let him into the defendant's box first. She entered after him. They sat and waited for the judge to come in.

Quatre, who was sitting directly behind Wufei, spoke. "Good luck!" he said. "By the way, Trowa's sick so he couldn't come, but he's watching it on TV!"

"TV?" Wufei asked. He wondered just how many stations this trial would be on.

Lia shook her head. "You're not allowed to talk to anyone in the audience," she said.

He nodded, then noticed the several newsreporters around. He groaned and put his head wearily on the table. He couldn't figure out _why_ the media had taken interest in his case. Kidnapping wasn't uncommon.

A few minutes later a cop entered. "All rise for the honourable Judge Wan."

Everyone got silent and stood as a man around forty came in and sat at the judge's stand. He dropped the gavelin(1), calling the court to session. Everyone sat.

"Court is now in session!" the cop said.

Judge Wan read over his information. "Trial number 3289. The Prefecture of Providence against Chang Wufei for kidnapping in the first degree." He looked at Wufei with piercing eyes. "How do you plead?"

Lia stood, speaking for Wufei. Suddenly the world seemed to be in slow motion as she opened her mouth to speak...

_**(1) I'm not sure what the proper word for the hammer the judge has is. I think it's a gavelin...**_

_**The End! That's it! How did you guys like it? I know, I'm evil for ending the story with a cliffhanger! As I said before, though. I might make a sequel chapter. Maybe. **_

**_I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, but I did my best with it. I hope you guys like it at least. _**_**Also, sorry the chapter was so short. I tried to make it longer, I promise. **_

_**R&R please! Constructive criticism is always welcome. **_


End file.
